The FarReaching Sun
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day three hundred and forty: Invited back with their Glee Club to perform at McKinley, Rachel and Quinn share a tune.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 16th cycle. Now cycle 17!_

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**"The Far-Reaching Sun"  
Older Rachel & Quinn  
Extra to the Sunshine Girls series  
Ties to "Ensemble, Eras, Expression" **

The tradition started with them, their first year in the club. They had held a performance, starring their own, Mr. Schuester's, and an older one. This evening had carried on, yearly. There would be the host club, two guest clubs… No matter how they may have been treated for having been in the club, it was surprising how many of them were willing to show. Eventually it would become clearer: Once they left McKinley, whether they pursued this path or not, a return to their old stage was a thrill that would not quit. And, there was camaraderie, a knowledge that they'd all shared this crazy little passion, all lived the ins and outs of it, all experienced the ridicule of the student body… and the faculty.

The New Directions, those who had instigated the first of these performances, were a staple of these, appearing every couple years. Of course, on top of being the ones to start the tradition, there was one more draw to inviting this club… Rachel Berry.

The limousine pulled up to the back of McKinley High, and her heart was hopping. Even fifteen years after leaving, and a few returns, being back always did something to her… especially in the middle of a show's run.

She entered the building, saw the familiar halls, and she breathed in… This place would once make her feel… smaller, only she wasn't. She was larger than life, asked to be small. Once she'd graduated though, she would never be small ever again… She had places to get to, and she wouldn't reach them by being small, contained.

She was supposed to meet the rest of the club in the old Glee room. Before heading there though, she had to make a bathroom stop, to freshen up after the drive. Looking in the mirror, it was hard not to see her teenage self reflected back at her… There was still a lot of that girl in her, but change or no, she could always find that part of herself.

She was fixing up her hair when the sound of one of the doors opening drew her attention. Looking into the mirror, she saw someone come out of the stall and toward the next sink over, and she smirked.

"Quinn Fabray," she spoke.

"Rachel Berry," Quinn returned. "Fancy meeting you here," she spoke, an echo of her teenaged self. The women's eyes drifted to the side, to each other, and each of them broke into a smirk, then a laugh as they faced and shared a quick hug. "I wasn't sure you'd get to come, busy girl you are."

"Oh, I wouldn't miss it," she promised, triggering another pair of smiles. "I'm staying a few days… Need some home time," she hummed.

"Dinner," Quinn nodded, a simple and fuss free invitation, and Rachel gave a similar response. "I've been waiting on this night, since the calls went out," she shook her head. "Butterflies and all of it," she gestured.

"Never changes… believe me," Rachel smiled. "You still love every part of it," she playfully teased.

"Yeah…" Quinn conceded in the same tone.

"I'm hardly a pro now, am I?" she turned it back on Rachel. "But then have you ever been anything else?"

"Of course," she nodded, confident. She paused, tilted her head. "Briefly." Quinn smiled.

"The pride of Lima, Ohio," she spoke dramatically. "But I know who you are, Rachel Berry," she nodded to herself. "You are my most surprising and, after all these years and an… interruption," she tested, and smiling Rachel nodded, letting Quinn breathe out and carry on, "Still my best friend, entertaining us all."

"Well it's all that practice I had," Rachel spoke confidently.

"Glee Club," Quinn nodded.

"I was going to say Sunshine Girls, but sure," she shrugged, amused.

"Of course," Quinn agreed. "Some days I think about it all and I think… How lucky I was. Making a friend, especially that kind, it's not run of the mill but it's not too hard either." She paused. "Getting a friend like that back, after so much time and misery… That's the rare thing, the real gem," she looked back to Rachel, smiling. She was smiling, too.

"Makes it even better. Different, but better," Rachel commented, and Quinn agreed. After a beat, they turned to finish up so they could leave the bathroom, which had already trapped them in nostalgia. It wasn't as though they never spoke, the opposite.

If the two of them had been told, back in the day, they'd come to rely on one another, they would not have ever believed it. Though Rachel was not in Lima most of the time, they would call one another a few times a week. If ever they needed advice on something, they would know they had someone to call on. They were the whole of two little girls in tutus, teenage enemies, and girls who'd taken a chance. They'd been through enough together that there weren't many others who could give them what they needed.

"Are they here yet?" Rachel asked as they walked toward the Glee room.

"Yeah, I think they went to the auditorium," Quinn replied as they reached the room… which was empty. "Auditorium," she nodded in confirmation. "Let's go," she started back for the hall but stopped when she saw Rachel was hanging back, looking around the room. "You okay there, Superstar?" Rachel turned back with a smirk.

"Yeah, just had this thought… Here we are, there's the piano, instruments… I wonder if…" she trailed off and let Quinn decide on her own if the temptation was enough. The blonde played along, stepping into the hall for just a moment before returning, trailed by the band and… "Brad…" Rachel moved up to greet him. "Don't suppose we could call on you for a moment," she indicated the piano. He quietly agreed and, once the women had decided, he led the musicians to start. Rachel and Quinn stood side by side at the piano, looking at each other from time to time as they sang.

_[R] "While truckin' down / The road of life / Although all hope seems gone... / I just move on"_

_[Q] "When I can't find a single star / To hang my wish upon / I just move on... / I move on"_

_[R] "I run so fast! / A shotgun blast / Can hurt me not one bit!"_

_[Q] "I'm on my toes! / 'Cause heaven knows / A movin' target's hard to hit!"_

_[RQ] "So as we play / In life's ballet / We're not the dyin' swan / We just move on... / We move on"_

_[Q] "Just when it seems / We're out of dreams / And things have got us down…"_

_[R] "We don't despair! / We don't go there! / We hang our bonnets out of town!"_

_[RQ] "So there's no doubt / We're well cut out / To run life's marathon... / We just move on... / We just move on…_

_So fleet of foot! / We can't stay put! / We just move on!_

_Yes, we move on... "_

They finished strong, and with a breath out, happy for the song. "Right, then, shall we?" Rachel offered her arm. Quinn bowed her head and took the arm; it was just as good as a pass of Sunshine Hands.

THE END

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**_[A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, story alert won't get you anything! ;)]_**


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